St.
Catharine's Captain; James Gordon of Craig, and George Robinson of
Clermiston, Lieutenants; (Sir) William Forbes of Pitsligo, and James
Skene of Rubislaw, Cornets; Walter Scott, Paymaster, Quartermaster,
and Secretary; John Adams, Adjutant. But the treble duties thus
devolved on Scott were found to interfere too severely with his other
avocations, and Colin Mackenzie of Portmore relieved him soon
afterwards from those of paymaster.

"The {p.240} part of quartermaster," says Mr. Skene, "was purposely
selected for him, that he might be spared the rough usage of the
ranks; but, notwithstanding his infirmity, he had a remarkably firm
seat on horseback, and in all situations a fearless one: no fatigue
ever seemed too much for him, and his zeal and animation served to
sustain the enthusiasm of the whole corps, while his ready 'mot a
rire' kept up, in all, a degree of good-humor and relish for the
service, without which the toil and privations of long _daily_ drills
would not easily have been submitted to by such a body of gentlemen.
At every interval of exercise, the order, _sit at ease_, was the
signal for the quartermaster to lead the squadron to merriment; every
eye was intuitively turned on 'Earl Walter,' as he was familiarly
called by his associates of that date, and his ready joke seldom
failed to raise the ready laugh. He took his full share in all the
labors and duties of the corps, had the highest pride in its progress
and proficiency, and was such a trooper himself as only a very
powerful frame of body and the warmest zeal in the cause could have
enabled any one to be. But his habitual good-humor was the great
charm, and at the daily mess (for we all dined together when in
quarters) that reigned supreme."

_Earl Walter's_ first charger, by the way, was a tall and powerful
animal, named Lenore. These daily drills appear to have been persisted
in during the spring and summer of 1797; the corps spending moreover
some weeks in quarters at Musselburgh. The majority of the troop
having professional duties to attend to, the ordinary hour for drill
was five in the morning; and when we reflect, that after some hours of
hard work in this way, Scott had to produce himself regularly in the
Parliament House with gown and wig, for the space of four or five
hours at least, while his chamber practice, though still humble, was
on the increase--and that he had found a plentiful source of new
social engagements in his troop {p